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A\u00a0Steller sea lion, who has been dubbed Chonkers, towers over a group of California sea lions by Pier 39 in San Francisco. The giant pinnipeds are rare visitors to the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Pier 39<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a slow Wednesday morning on the\u00a0Embarcadero, but the waterfront at Pier 39 carries the mood of a red carpet moments before Zendaya\u2019s arrival. A hundred locals and tourists stand with cameras and selfie sticks at the ready. A French couple chats excitedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cO\u00f9 est Chonkers? O\u00f9 est Chonkers?<\/p>\n
In San Francisco right now, the \u201cA\u201d in A-list stands for \u201cAnimal.\u201d And the animal in question is Chonkers, a husky 2,000-pound Steller sea lion who has been entertaining growing crowds at the waterfront for two months and counting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The massive pinniped towers over his California sea lion compatriots at Pier 39. And he\u2019s a bit elusive \u2014 I went 0-for-2 trying to catch him this week \u2014 which only adds to the mystique.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an early riser,\u201d said Andrea Jesson, a Marine Mammal Center volunteer who arrived with a camera, hoping to catch the city\u2019s celebrity of the moment, who has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal and written up in USA Today. \u201cMaybe he\u2019ll show up in the evening or early afternoon.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Steller sea lion nicknamed\u00a0Chonkers is seen at Pier 39.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Pier 39<\/p>\n
The Bay Area isn\u2019t the only media market to embrace an animal story. We just do it better than everyone else. Pop quiz: What is the name of the lieutenant governor of California? Now tell me the name of the turkey that terrorized citizens<\/a> near the Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland in 2020? If you answered \u201cHell if I know\u201d and \u201cGerald,\u201d you\u2019re in the right place.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n (Apologies to the honorable Eleni Kounalakis<\/a>. You should have been born an African penguin<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wild parrots roost in a tree above Ina Coolbrith Park in San Francisco, with the Transamerica Pyramid visible in the background.<\/p>\n Anna Connors\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n Whenever we obsess over an \u201cit\u201d animal, I think about Humphrey. The humpback whale who entered the bay in 1985 and meandered\u00a0through the delta and up the Sacramento River\u00a0to Rio Vista sparked daily front-page Chronicle stories and a Bay Area-wide brainstorming session on how to lure Humphrey back to the open ocean.<\/p>\n After weeks of people\u00a0banging steel pipes together, imitating\u00a0orcas and playing humpback feeding sounds to urge the whale to safety, Humphrey reached the Pacific again, passing under the Golden Gate Bridge and spouting one more time before disappearing in the fog.<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of cars double-parked at Fort Point, and people rushed through thick fog to catch a final glimpse of Humphrey and hear his final salute,\u201d the Chronicle reported. \u201cMotorists stopped on the Golden Gate Bridge and rush-hour traffic ground to a halt on the Marina Green.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It sounds like an excessive response for an animal with atrocious navigation issues. (The celebrity whale reentered the San Francisco Bay in 1990. Get it together, Humphrey!) But it\u2019s part of what I love about the Bay Area. Forty years later, we continue to talk about the rescue of this wayward whale like a Super Bowl win. You can still order a \u201cHumphrey Special\u201d<\/a> at the Pizza Factory on Main Street in Rio Vista. As I type this, more than 750 people have voted to name a ferry after him<\/a>.<\/p>\n Humphrey the humpback whale, who had swum up to Rio Vista in 1985, returned to San Francisco Bay in October 1990 and beached himself in shallow water just south of Candlestick Point.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michael Maloney\/The Chronicle<\/p>\n At the root of this kookiness, I believe, is a community filled with empathy and understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n In that way, Chonkers is the perfect Bay Area avatar. (Reports from the last 24 hours<\/a> suggest he may have a Steller friend.) He\u2019s big and bold and not afraid to throw his weight around. He\u2019s different, but not insecure about it. He\u2019s new, but fits right in. And in a city that takes itself so seriously, this plus-size sea lion is pure levity.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much depressing news,\u201d Pier 39 spokeswoman Sue Muzzin said. \u201cChonkers is something that\u2019s fun and can lighten the load a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n I worry with every wayward animal story that we\u2019re giving the slow-news-day Ron Burgundy treatment<\/a> to a behavior that\u2019s influenced by climate change or other human-related factors. When I spoke to Jesson from the Marine Mammal Center, I had to specify which celebrity sea lion I was writing about. The Sausalito-based center also recently rescued a stranded sea lion pup <\/a>in the Outer Sunset.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Chonkers\u2019 extended visit \u2014 he arrived the first week of March \u2014 doesn\u2019t seem to be a cause for alarm. Steller sea lions are more common in Alaska, British Columbia and Washington, but they do live this far south. Muzzin said Chonkers has been here before, stopping by Pier 39 for a day or two in previous years.<\/p>\n Chonkers, a\u00a0Steller sea lion, is pictured in March gazing off the edge of the dock at Pier 39. He\u2019s estimated to weigh about 2,000 pounds and has been drawing crowds to the waterfront.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Pier 39<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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